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Tower Would Forever Alter Historic Skyline

July 30, 2010

Despite an outcry from local and international preservation groups, the Spanish bank CajaSol has broken ground on a 180-meter-high office tower in Sevilla. If built, the building, designed by Cesar Pelli, will overshadow Sevilla Cathedral's tower, which for 800 years has been the tallest structure in the city.

World Monuments Fund responded to the plans for the tower by including the historic landscape of Sevilla on the 2010 Watch. The construction of the tower has also been denounced by the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), as it will forever alter Sevilla's urban landscape.

The site of the construction is on the island of the Cartuja, close to river Guadalquivir and scarcely 100 meters from the historic neighborhood of Triana. The land is on a floodplain, bringing added cost to the construction, despite the fact that due to the poor economy plenty of office space is available in the city.